The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-14
SIXTY SKELETONS.
CHASTITY Reminders of Ante-Bellum


~~~NA~NN@O
Times.
A letter from Coakeville, Tenn, to the
Nashville American says: Before the war,
for twenty-fi years, road within miles
of this place leading from Louisville, KY,
through the State down into Georgia and
South Carolina, was known as the Ken
tucky Stock road, and was at that time the
principal highway for traders between the
two sections Planters, slave dealers and
stockmen would drive their negroes, mules,
etc. down to the Southern market, return
ing with the money from their sales. Such
| parties were frequently missing very mys-
| teriously, no trace of them ever being
| found.
The road through this section ran through
a wild, thinly settled mountain country,
the stopping places, or dwellings where a
traveller could get shelter, frequently being
| thirty or forty miles apart and, as recent
| Investigations show, were kept by robbers
and nurderers of the worst description,
who for years followed this business OF
wholesale robbery and murder.
About thirty years ago man who is now
a citizen of this place, found skeleton at
the entrance to a cave, but no further IN
vestigation was ever made until yesterday,
and It was left for a stranger to make dis
|
like description where the writer finds his
terrible characters only in his own brain.
Yesterday party was organized under the
leadership of Mr.. Ferd Kincaid to explore
the cave where the skeleton was found 81
years ago.
Back on the mountain side, about one
half mile from one of the notorious stop
ming places described the entrance to the
cave was found. A hole, something like a
,;r,lf pl fapf first
passed through, and then the cave opens into
large cayerns with downward course I'M
der fine mountain. At the bottom of the
shaft the party found human bones, and,
with a little digging in the debris that had
accumulated at this point, unearthed about
sixty skeletons of men who have been
murdered and thrown down this hole.
some skulls were found with bullet holes
through them, others being mashed with an
o olI' ~. 77nstrnment of that kind Old citizens
now living in this vicinity, say that the
lseeners of these dens would keep track of
the travellers when they passed through
with stock, and on their return they would be
almost certain TO disappear. The robbers
were even so bold they would take the
clothing. saddles and horses OF their victims
md use them publicly. They would get
man drunk, if possible, and as WHISKY was
,,le,tv and the custom of drinking common,
Il was no hard matter to do, then III their
drunken stupor, kill, rob and throw their
hodies in this hole. Without doubt many
men. as this fearful disclosure proves, never
raturned 20 their homes, and anxious friends
waited and watched, and wondered why
they returned not. Not far from here, by
the side of this road, still stands house;
fine walls of one room are stained and
spattered with human blood. Above here
In the mountains about twenty miles was
st;lI n worse place, il possible, than this.
Another cave Is there, and would, if investi-
gated, repeat the sickening story Of yester-
DAYS investigation The people here are
much excited over this discovery, as many
ldescendants Of this robber gang are still
Jiving ali through this country. But dead
men tel no tales and the history OF these
fearful crimes will never be known.